Prep football notebook: 2012 season was year of the quarterback in Flint area

Grand Blanc quarterback Bart Williams finished his high school career with over 6,000 passing yards. (MLive.com file photo)

Jaylen Schoenfield took over the Swartz Creek offense as a senior and led the Dragons to new heights this season. (Griffin Moores | MLive.com file photo)

Linden senior quarterback Shaye Brown became the fifth Flint-area quarterback to over throw for 5,000 or more yards in his career. (MLive.com file photo)

FLINT, MI -- The quarterback position is often hailed as the most important for a football team, and in the Flint area it was stronger than perhaps anywhere else in the state this season.

With Grand Blanc and Linden both losing in district championship games last week, QBs Bart Williams and Shaye Brown concluded their outstanding careers with some gaudy numbers. Williams, a two-year starter at Grand Blanc, passed for over 3,000 yards this season with 36 touchdowns and 14 interceptions. A first-team All-State selection last season, Williams was equally impressive as a senior and ends his career with over 6,000 passing yards.

Brown, like Williams, was also a two-year starter, at Linden. He led Linden to a surprise district championship last season and a share of the Flint Metro League title this year. Brown completed 69 percent of his passes this year and threw for 2,939 yards and 29 TDs, with just six interceptions. In doing so, Brown became one of five Flint-area quarterbacks to surpass the 5,000 passing yards mark for their careers.

The Flint Metro League was home to two other outstanding quarterbacks as well, with Swartz Creek’s Jaylen Schoenfield and Fenton’s Conor Davidson -- both of whom took over the starting QB role for their respective teams as seniors this season.

Schoenfield led the Dragons to a historic year and was a big reason for Swartz Creek making its first-ever playoff appearance. Although he struggled with turnovers toward the end of the season, he finished the year with 2,783 passing yards and 30 touchdowns and was also one of the team’s top defensive backs. Davidson facilitated a high-powered Fenton offense loaded with weapons. He completed 66 percent of his passes, breaking the school record for passing yards and passing touchdowns (24) in a single season.

Flint Powers Catholic’s Garrett Pougnet also had a great season and his team is still alive in search of a second-straight Division 5 state championship. Pougnet is a dual-threat player and has 15 passing touchdowns and nine rushing scores. He’s thrown for 1,583 yards and rushed for another 558 on the ground.

New Lothrop’s Austin Newman wrapped up an outstanding career of his own as the Hornets fell to Harbor Beach in a Division 8 district championship game last Friday. Newman had a record of 23-2 as a starter at New Lothrop and finished this season with 1,339 yards, 15 TDs and just one interception while also rushing for four scores.

One for the history books

Linden and DeWitt’s six-overtime classic district championship game Friday, Nov. 2, tied for the second-longest game ever played in Michigan High School Athletic Association history. Unfortunately for the Eagles, after three hours and 16 minutes of play, they came up on the wrong end of a 45-44 final score.

“This is a special team,” said Linden coach Dennis Hopkins. “We didn’t have any star players, we had a lot of good players. They played as a team and that made us as successful as we were.”

Because of the length of Friday’s game, Linden had to dig deep into its playbook to keep DeWitt off the field. Linden reeled off a game-high 82 plays compared to 58 for DeWitt. The Eagles finished with 22 first downs while the Panthers ended with only 13. Not surprisingly, Linden led in time of possession, 27:23-20:37.

The game was the fifth-ever MHSAA contest to last six or more overtimes.

Resilient Rams

For the second straight week, Montrose needed a come-from-behind effort to win and keep its playoff run alive. The Rams outlasted Vassar, 7-6, in Round 1 after running back Caleb Reinhart cashed in a trick play and threw a touchdown pass in the closing minutes.

Last Friday against Millington, the Rams trailed 28-7 before running off 26 unanswered points to survive with a 33-28 victory. Reinhart was once again the man of the hour, rushing for the go-ahead touchdown with 2:27 left.

“There were so many times that they could've quit, but they just kept battling through the adversity,” Montrose coach Dennis Reinhart said. “I couldn't be prouder of them. This team believes that the game is never over. They played their hearts out, left it all out on the field, and that's all you can ask of them.”